


10 Things I Hate About You

by DodgerBear



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Boys In Love, M/M, fluffy love, proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 03:54:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19310104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DodgerBear/pseuds/DodgerBear
Summary: Heath Ledger has a lot to answer for.





	10 Things I Hate About You

**Author's Note:**

> would love to hear what you think 🤓

 

 

_You’re arrogant._

_You’re impatient._

_You think you’re smarter than everyone else._

 

_You never clean up after yourself._

 

_You sleep with your head on my pillow._

 

_You’re a terrible loser when I beat you at video games._

 

_You never call me by my name._

 

_Your idea of a romantic dinner is going by the grocery store at ten at night to snag the stuff that’s passed its use by date._

 

_You have really bad taste in music. And movies._

 

_You never call Mandy but you get jealous when I do because you need attention all the time._

 

_You snore._

 

 

Mickey read down the list with a mixture of indignation and amusement. Ian’s scrawled handwriting looked a little like when a five year old Yev had been let loose to write his wish list to Santa but Ian certainly got to his point. Mickey chuckled when he reached the bottom of the list. 

“That’s eleven things, dumbass. Your bosses know you can’t count to ten?” He smirked. 

Ian raised his eyebrows. “See...that’s one of my points. You always think you’re smarter than everyone else.”

“Damn sure I’m smarter than someone that can’t count to ten, Firecrotch.”

Ian huffed. “Arrogant.”

“Honest.” Mickey countered and Ian sighed. 

“Sure. I’ll give you that. You’re always honest. Sometimes a little too honest.”

“Oh yeah? You wanna add that to the list? Make it a nice, round dozen? That means twelve, by the way.” Mickey teased. 

“Fuck you.” Ian retorted with no heat in his words. 

“Maybe later. Right about when I rest my head on your pillow...” Mickey rolled his eyes. 

Ian stretched out his arms above his head and cracked his neck. “I gotta get to work.”

Mickey watched his partner move around the room as he dressed in his EMT uniform and laced up his boots. 

“Ian?” Mickey bit his lip anxiously. It sounded odd on his tongue, Ian’s name. He conceded internally that Ian had a point that he never used his name. But with so many cute and varied nicknames to pick from, Mickey just never had a chance to call him Ian. 

“Sup Mick?” Ian leaned against the door frame and smiled softly at his man. 

“Any of this shit really bother you?”

Ian saw the anxiety gnawing at Mickey. They’d spent the night before eating pizza and watching Heath Ledger movies, which inevitably it led to listing the ten things they hated about each other. Except Mickey fell asleep before he wrote his list. So Ian wrote his on the inside of the pizza box lid while he watched Mickey sleep on the couch. It was meant to be a joke but Mickey was still so insecure about random shit that Ian was worried he’d hit some nerves. After spending years denying who and what he was, Mickey was embracing his relatively new freedom and living with Ian was the height of it all. On a good day he could reconcile in his mind that Ian was with him because they were best friends that had a laugh together and had mind-blowing sex at least once a day. On his worst day, Mickey couldn’t process any logical reason in his mind that Ian would put up with his shit for so long and choose to  stay with him. Ian spent a long time explaining his logic. It was simple. Ian thought he deserved Mickey. Like he was some kind of prize for patiently waiting for Mickey to get to the place he needed to be so they could be together. This was Ian’s reward for putting the time in. And now it looked like Ian’s reward was some cocky asshole who left all the housework to him while he spent his time playing video games and acting all superior. 

“Mick...it was a joke. Of course it doesn’t really bother me.” Ian smiled sadly. 

Mickey nodded once but didn’t look any more convinced. 

Ian moved closer to Mickey and pulled him closer so they were almost touching chest to chest. “Listen to me...it’s a joke. I love that you can be a little arrogant now. It means you’re seeing yourself like I’ve always seen you. It’s taken a long time but I’m glad. I love that you know how smart you are. You used your brains to make us enough money to pay for this place, my meds and Yev for the whole time I was studying to be a paramedic. Damn right you’re smarter than me.”

Mickey scoffed and shook his head. “Shut up man.”

Ian grinned and shook his head along with him. “Nope. You started this. Now you gotta hear me out.”

Mickey huffed and leaned his forehead against Ian’s chest. “You don’t have to...”

“I know.” Ian smiled. “I love the nicknames you call me. You think them up on the spot and they’re funny as hell. They give me a clue about what you see when you look at me. I love seeing you sing along to that shit heavy metal music you insist on playing when you drive. The Mickey I first met would never be able to relax enough to do that. I love that you go to the store and grab up all the cheap stuff so we can have a feast and still pay the bills...my favorite nights are when we spread all that shit out on the table and have a carpet picnic while we watch movies and get high.”

Mickey started to laugh. Those were his favorite nights too. 

Ian pulled him into a loose hug, looping his arms around Mickey neck and gazing into his eyes. “Most of all, I love it when I wake up and we’re sharing a pillow. I wanted to be that close to you for years. Now I get it every single day. Dunno if I’ll ever get over how lucky I am to have that.”

Mickey leaned up on his toes and pressed his lips to Ian’s gently. When he pulled back Ian could see the blush on his face and smiled softly. 

“I don’t mean to embarrass you.” Ian murmured. 

“It’s just weird...talking about feelings...I want to be better with this shit. It’s important.”

“You don’t need to worry about that for me.” Ian assured him. 

“It’s not just you. It’s important for both of us. I don’t ever doubt my feelings for you so I should be able to talk about it. For you. And for Yev. That kid is the best thing to come out of that whole dark period I need to be high to even think about. I love him and I should be able to tell him.” Mickey argued gently but firmly. 

Ian smiled warmly. “You do. Yev knows you love him. And I know you love me.”

Mickey nodded once. “I do.”

“There we go then. Don’t even worry about it. We love you too.” Ian pecked Mickey on the lips. “And now I really gotta get to work.”

Mickey nodded and stepped back. “I’ll make dinner tonight. The kid is staying at Lana’s again tonight. Maybe we can play Mario Kart and fuck on the couch...”

Ian giggled at Mickey’s wiggling eyebrows and grabbed him in another deep kiss. “Fuck yeah. Count me in.”

Mickey watched Ian leave and sank down on the edge of the bed. His equilibrium had been shaken but, as usual, Ian restored it with this easy words and solid grasp of his emotions. Maybe you _could_ just blurt out how you feel all the time. 

 

Ian let himself into the house a little after 8 in the evening. It was dark and quiet. He wandered to the kitchen and found a note stuck to the fridge. 

_Tried to make spaghetti. Didn’t work out. Gone to the store for carpet picnic ingredients. And a new pan. Meh. Back soon. I love you. M._

Ian grinned when he read the note. It was so Mickey, apart from the ‘I love you’ at the end.  Ian figured this was Mickey’s way of trying to be better. As far as he was concerned it was unnecessary, he loved Mickey exactly how he was. But if Mickey was going to throw the L word around more often, well Ian could absolutely get on board with that. He was about to open the fridge and grab a beer when he saw the pizza box still on the counter. On closer inspection it wasn’t his pizza box with his ~~10~~ 11 Things I Hate About You written inside. This was Mickey’s pizza box and it had his handwriting on the lid. Mickey’s handwriting was surprisingly neat and tidy, which the man himself blamed on the need to have clear notes when doing the books for drug runners and pimps. 

 

_10 Things I Love About You._  

 

Ian’s breath caught in his throat and he wheezed until it came out. He took the box to their tiny kitchen table and sat down to read it. 

 

_Your dick - of course I’m gonna start with that. If I’m honest, when I first saw it I wasn’t sure I was gonna be able to take it. Glad I accepted that challenge._

_You taught me that I could be me. That being me is enough. Sorry about the wait._

_You always save the last Pop Tart for me._

_You keep taking your meds every day even though you hate it because you want to be stable for me and Yev._

_You make coffee every morning just how I like it. I’d kill someone if I didn’t start the day with that coffee. Straight up._

_You look out for Mandy. Always have and always will. I’ll never have to worry about her if I’m ever not around. You got her._

_You’ve overcome so much to be where you are. You didn’t let it hold you back and I’m proud as fuck that you put on that uniform and go out to help people. You were born to save people. You saved me._

_You always remember to record my shows when I’m working so I don’t miss anything._

_You love our son like I’ve never seen anyone love anything. You were a father to him before I could be and you’ve fuckin nailed it every step of the way. You’d kill for our kid._

_You make sure I eat a vegetable every once in a while. I might live a few more years because of you._

_You make me feel free. But I kinda like the idea of bein’ tied down with you. Think we should get married?_

 

Ian stared at the last line like it might fade away if he averted his eyes. As romantic proposals go, it was lame as fuck. But this was Mickey doing the asking and it was the most romantic thing he’d ever done. Tears welled in Ian’s eyes but he still couldn’t blink. Mickey wanted to get married. To him. Mickey wanted to marry _him_. 

“I know it’s eleven things too. I guess we’re as dumb as each other, huh?” Mickey’s amused voice drifted into the kitchen from the doorway. 

Ian finally looked up from the pizza box with the grease stains and the words that he had wanted to read all his adult life. 

“You really mean this?” His voice came out shaky. He was genuinely terrified Mickey would pass it off as a joke or have had a change of heart since he wrote it and went to the store. 

“Of course I really mean it.” Mickey said firmly, a flash of insecurity in his eyes. 

Ian’s whole face lit up in a smile that was almost blinding. 

“Oh my God.” Mickey snapped. “Are you gonna put me outta my misery or what? Don’t leave me hanging here Red!”

A tear escaped from Ian’s left eye and made a track down his freckled face. He swiped it away quickly. 

“Ask me.” He whispered quietly. “Please.”

Mickey rolled his eyes. “Skanky pizza box not good enough huh. Fine. You want me to do the one knee thing too?”

Ian giggled and shook his head. “Just wanna hear the words, Mick.”

Mickey nodded. He could understand that. He coughed lightly to clear the lump in his throat. 

“I guess...what I wanna say...I can’t ever picture my life without you in it. I love you.” He said simply and Ian bit his lip to keep his emotions in check. 

“Will you marry me?”

Ian nodded wildly, beaming smile back in place. “Of course I will.”

Mickey sagged in relief. He smiled back at Ian shakily. 

“Come here.” Ian demanded and Mickey moved to stand next to him. Ian pulled him into a slow, sexy kiss that tasted salty from Ian’s tears. 

“Ian?”

“Yeah Mick?”

“We gotta stop.”

“Why?”

“I bought some ice cream at the store. It’s melting all over the floor.”

Ian barked a laugh. “Ice cream?”

“Yeah. To celebrate if you said yes, to cheer myself up if you said no.”

Ian scoffed but released Mickey from his grip. “Like I would ever say no.”

 

Half an hour later the two men were sprawled on the floor of their living room with food spread out on the table and an old Bruce Willis movie on the tv. Ian leaned over to feed Mickey a handful of BBQ Pringles, which he took and immediately used to do a duck impression. Ian giggled happily, not realizing the front door had opened until Yev was standing in the doorway. 

“Nice pout Dad.”

Mickey removed the chips from his mouth and grinned happily at his son. 

“Hey! Thought you were staying with your Mom again tonight...” 

Yev shrugged in a casual way only an almost 15 year old could pull off. “I got bored. She’s on a health kick and tryna feed me cucumbers and kale smoothies.”

Even Ian screwed up his face and he was the health nut in their household. 

“We got chips, cheese, some kinda dodgy meats and chicken fried rice. Help yourself.”

Yev smiled. “Thanks. You guys okay?”

Mickey glanced at Ian before smiling shyly back in Yev’s direction. “Yeah. We’re good. Actually...we’re um...we're gonna get married.”

“Married? You guys?” Yev gaped. 

Mickey and Ian nodded apprehensively. 

“That’s awesome! About time.” Yev beamed. 

Mickey shrugged. “I just needed to be sure...”

Ian gasped at Mickey’s obvious joke and Yev laughed as he launched on them in a big hug. 

“I’m happy for you guys. You gonna do rock, paper, scissors to get me for your Best Man?”

Ian laughed with delight. “As much as I’d love to have you as my Best Man...I’m not sure a) Lip would ever forgive me and b) your Dad could find anyone else.”

“Hey!” Mickey slapped Ian’s arm. “But yeah. That’s true.”

Yev settled on the couch behind them and grabbed some chips. “You want me to head out tonight? Give you some space...”

“Hell no.” Ian cut him off. 

“Nope. Sit tight. We’re gonna eat all of this food and watch all three Die Hard movies.” Mickey added. 

“Dad...there’s more than three Die Hard movies...”

Mickey shook his head vehemently. “No there ain’t. Don’t care what IMDb says. There’s three. End of.”

Yev laughed heartily and ate his chips. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

The movie started and Mickey glanced sneakily sideways at his family. The contentment in his chest threatened to overwhelm him but Ian would hate for anyone to steal his crown as the emotional one in the household. He settled back, leaning his head against Yev’s leg and reached for Ian’s hand by his side. If this was how he had to live every day for the rest of his life he’d die a happy man. 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
